Entertainment

David Harewood talks about being sectioned as celebrities open up about mental health struggles

Stars were speaking out on World Mental Health Day.
Stars were speaking out on World Mental Health Day. Stars were speaking out on World Mental Health Day.

Homeland star David Harewood has revealed he was sectioned after suffering a breakdown during his 20s.

The actor joined a number of celebrities speaking out on World Mental Health Day and encouraging people to open up if they are struggling.

Harewood wrote in a post on Twitter: “It’s #WorldMentalHealthDay today. As someone who had a breakdown and was sectioned in my 20’s I’m here to tell you that there’s no shame in talking about it if your struggling.

“I haven’t done too bad since! Go easy on yourself today, and get some help if you can.”

Demi Lovato, The xx, Lady Gaga and a number of other stars also took to social media to promote the day of awareness.

The xx shared an emotional message on Instagram documenting their own struggles in opening up to each other.

The trio wrote: “The 3 of us are best friends, we have grown up together but even so sometimes we have found it hard over the years to really open up and talk to each other when things were troubling us.

We are so grateful for songwriting as it has given us a place to pour our emotions into. Sometimes we’ve said things to each other in a song, before we felt brave enough to say it out loud.”

Today is World Mental Health Day. The 3 of us are best friends, we have grown up together but even so sometimes we have found it hard over the years to really open up and talk to each other when things were troubling us . We are so grateful for songwriting as it has given us a place to pour our emotions into. Sometimes we've said things to each other in a song, before we felt brave enough to say it out loud. Having the songs as a talking point have given us the opportunity to open up. Since we started really talking to each other about how we feel and what we are going through, there has been a new closeness between us . This also ties into our album name 'I See You', since opening up, we feel like we see each other with so much more empathy. Feeling seen and understood is so important, all we could ever hope is that if you're going through any pain, you feel like you can open up to someone. Talking about your mental health really can make a huge difference. Big love xx The xx #worldmentalhealthday

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“Having the songs as a talking point have given us the opportunity to open up. Since we started really talking to each other about how we feel and what we are going through, there has been a new closeness between us.”

They added that it had inspired the name of their latest album, I See You, which is how they now see each other with more empathy after opening up about their issues.

And singer Dua Lipa told fans at a gig to “speak to friends” if they ever struggled with mental health issues, footage posted online showed.